Make your Hytale server privateWhitelist, password and ban list - which protection fits which group

Published on October 4, 2026 · last updated on November 8, 2026

Whitelist or password?

Both close the server, but in different ways:

For a fixed group of friends, the whitelist is the cleaner solution: nobody gets in just because the password ended up in a chat. The password plays to its strengths when the group changes constantly and you do not want to add every name individually.

The whitelist via command

The most convenient way to manage the whitelist is via command - in the game as an admin, or in the console in the web interface without the slash. Hypixel does not fix the exact syntax of these commands, and it can change with updates. The server itself shows you the form that is valid for your version:

/help whitelist

The right order saves you from being kicked: add first, then switch on - and add yourself first. The official notes on Update 6 do not say that admins get in automatically. So add yourself and your admins beforehand, even if you are already an operator, see Become an admin. For emergencies, there is still the console in the web interface, which works without joining.

What happened to whitelist.json

Up to Update 5, the list was stored in the whitelist.json file. Since Update 6 of August 27, 2026, the whitelist runs on the hytale.server.join permission: the commands grant and revoke this permission. An existing whitelist.json was renamed to whitelist.json.migrated in the process and is no longer the active list.

For you, that means: do not add entries to a whitelist.json by hand anymore, and do not rename the .migrated file back. Older guides on the web still describe the old way. Use the commands, because they save the new state immediately.

If you do have to edit files such as permissions.json, the rule for all Hytale configuration files applies: only while the server is stopped. The server reads them at startup and rewrites them as soon as someone makes changes by command. /whoami gives you a player's UUID.

Setting a server password

The password is stored in the server's central config.json, in the Password field. An empty value means: no password.

1. Stop the server in the web interface.
2. Open config.json in the config editor.
3. At Password, enter the password you want in quotation marks.
4. Save and start the server.

Players are asked for the password when joining. If you change it, everyone has to enter the new one - which is exactly what you want when someone has left the group. Which other fields config.json contains, from server name to maximum player count to view distance, is shown in Hytale server settings.

Troublemakers: kick and ban

Even on a closed server, you sometimes need to throw someone out:

• /kick Name throws a player out once. They can come right back - a warning.
• /ban Name bans them permanently. The entry is stored in bans.json.
• /unban Name lifts the ban again.

On a whitelist server, /whitelist remove and a kick are often enough. The ban is the stronger measure for public servers, where anyone could otherwise come back. More moderation commands are in Hytale server commands.

When someone still cannot get in

The whitelist is a common cause of apparent connection problems. Before you doubt the address or port, it is worth checking these points:

• Is the player approved with exactly the account they play with?
• Were they only added to the old whitelist.json? Since Update 6, that no longer has any effect - use the command.
• Is the player accidentally listed in bans.json?
• Is the password right, if one is set?

If all of that is fine, the cause lies elsewhere - the checklist for that is in Fix connection problems, and the basics of connecting are in Join a Hytale server.

Frequently asked questions